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By Jonathan Crouch

Tesla's all-electric Model 3 executive saloon took the American brand into volume territory for the first time. Now it's been significantly improved. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 110

The Model 3 is the car that's really put Tesla on the map and the brand has really worked on it in recent times, with a wide-ranging mid-term update, a top Performance version and the introduction of a super-efficient Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive volume variant. If you haven't tried a Model 3 for some time, you'll find this current version more avant garde inside, quieter to drive and better to ride in, plus there's more equipment despite the fact that the entry-level version has a useful price advantage over its rivals. So, your next executive saloon? Middle managers who are early adopters of new technology should form an orderly queue.

Backgroundword count: 157

At its launch back in 2017, the Model 3 was the most significant car Tesla had introduced in its history, but even this ambitious US brand couldn't have predicted just how successful it would be. In the first six years of production, over 2 million were sold and the car was frequently the European continent's best seller. It was an accessible, high-performance and technologically advanced contender that appealed to a broad audience and it helped shift perceptions about electric vehicles into the mainstream. By Autumn 2023 though, the EV competition was catching up, hence the need for the heavily revised version of the Model 3 we look at here. It got a sharper look, greater refinement, improved media connectivity and a smarter cabin. And was followed up in 2024 by the introduction of a top Performance flagship derivative; and a super-efficient Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant with up to 436 miles of range. It all sounds promising.

Driving Experienceword count: 480

There's a lot to get used to behind the wheel of a Model 3 - particularly in this updated version. For this enhanced design, Tesla has decided that it's no longer necessary to provide the column stalks that used to control gear shifting and the indicators. Forward or reverse motion is now activated via a swipe on the right hand side of the central screen that, as before, houses all the main drive instruments. While indicating is now dealt with by buttons on the left hand wheel spoke. Model 3 owners have usually chosen the Dual Motor version rather than the base rear-driven model because of that AWD variant's bigger battery and longer EV mileage. Well now Tesla has introduced a 'Long Range' version of the Rear-Wheel Drive derivative too, which boosts the base version's 318 mile range figure to a far more satisfying 436 miles (though at quite a price premium). As before, the Long Range All-Wheel Drive version offers 390 miles, while the top AWD Model 3 Performance manages 328 miles. All variants offer eager performance, with the base Rear-Wheel Drive model making 62mph in 6.1s, a figure the Long Range All-Wheel Drive version improves to just 4.4s. The top 'Performance' Dual Motor variant has 453bhp, which makes 62mph in 2.9s en route to 153mph. With that, you get adaptive damping and a 'Track Mode' package for sharper handling. Across the range, with the 'Project Highland' mid-term update of early 2024, lots of work was done on refinement (not a strongpoint of the original model), Tesla introducing 360-degree acoustic glass and adding improved suspension bushings, seals and sound-deadening materials. Otherwise, the drive experience here is much as before. Which means superbly accurate steering, lacking only the final really feelsome element that's integral to a good European rack. And very well modulated set of brakes. There's also firm-ish damping that contributes to excellent body control through the turns, but doesn't crash too much through pot holes or over speed humps. You could actually enjoy yourself driving this car, which is quite a rare experience in an EV. The smooth linearity of the throttle helps -though it's still prone to lurch the car forward like a startled rabbit if used without due care. As before, there's no driving mode system of the kind a combustion-engined competitor in this segment would offer - just three steering settings ('Comfort', 'Standard' or 'Sport') and two acceleration modes ('Standard' and the rather cringily-named 'Chill'). You can activate a 'Slip Start' setting that eases the car away if you happen to be stuck on snow, mud or sand. As for regenerative braking, well you can't control it in the way you can with rival EVs. A Model 3 also dispenses with other driving control features you might be familiar with - a wiper stalk, a handbrake, an ignition key and a start button for instance.

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